Today the Garden of Eden in Lucas is considered one of the best grassroots arts sites in the United States. Newspaper articles of the 1920s and 1930s refer to creator, Samuel P. Dinsmoor as the "Second Adam." A retired schoolteacher and farmer, as well as a disabled Civil War veteran, Dinsmoor spent the last 25 years of his life constructing what he called "the most unique home, for living or dead, on earth." In 1907 Dinsmoore built his "cabin home" in the small central Kansas community of Lucas. Using 113 tons of cement, Dinsmoor went on to create the "Garden of Eden," depicting in sculpture his interpretation of the Bible and modern civilization as interpreted through his populist views.

The information available concerning Dinsmoor's early life is at best sketchy. We know he was born near Coolville, Ohio, on March 8, 1843. He served in the Union army during the Civil War observing 18 major battles, including the Battle of Gettysburg and the capture of Robert E. Lee. He taught school for five years in Illinois. On August 24, 1870 he married Mrs. Frances. A. (Barlow) Journey, a widow of considerable means. At some point in time Dinsmoor took up farming, moving to Kansas in the fall of 1888. For some unrecorded reason he moved to Nebraska in the fall of 1890 only to return to Russell County, Kansas the following year. In 1905 he retired and moved his family into town buying the quarter block in Lucas that was to become the "Garden of Eden." In the spring of 1917 the first Mrs. Dinsmoor died. Alone and deeply involved in the construction of the "Garden," Dinsmoor hired a young Czechoslovakian woman named Emilie Brozek as a housekeeper. When Emilie was twenty years old she married Dinsmoor, who was then 81. The marriage produced two children.

Although neither an architect nor an engineer, at age 64 Samuel P. Dinsmoor built his "cabin home." The home itself is quite remarkable, built like a log cabin out of native limestone. With the completion of the "cabin home," Dinsmoor set about to create the intertwining concrete sculptures that became his "Garden of Eden." He erected scaffolding and worked alone, hiring an assistant only to mix cement. He wanted the "Garden" to be durable so he began with steel reinforcements covered with chicken wire. The entire sculpture, which consists of more than 150 statues supported by 29 cement trees, stands approximately 40 feet high. On the west side Dinsmoor depicted his personal understanding of the Bible. The north side of the property tells the story of modern civilization. To further explain his views, Dinsmoor published a small guide book called. Pictorial History of the Cabin Home in Garden of Eden.

A view of Samuel Perry Dinsmoor, 1843-1932, standing next to what appears to be a coffin-shaped concrete slab and a lid inscribed with the Freemasons' square and compass symbol and the name "Dinsmoor." Dinsmoor was a Civil War veteran and, subsequently, a teacher, sculptor, and landscape artist in Lucas, Kansas. He created "The Garden of Eden" on his property in Lucas and constructed over 200 concrete sculptures there which depict his views about Populism and religion. The garden is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

James A. Naismith (November 6, 1861 – November 28, 1939) was a Canadian sports coach and innovator. He invented the sport of basketball in 1891 and is often credited with introducing the first football helmet. He wrote the original basketball rulebook, founded the University of Kansas basketball program, and lived to see basketball adopted as an Olympic demonstration sport in 1904 and as an official event at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.

Born in Ontario, Canada, Naismith studied physical education in Montreal before moving to the United States, where he developed basketball in late 1891 while enrolled at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. Naismith also studied medicine in Denver, taking his MD in 1898 before moving to the University of Kansas. Following a number of years as a faculty member and part-time basketball coach—during the sport's fledgling years (1898–1907)—at the University of Kansas, Naismith moved on to further academic obligations at that university, where he also served as the Athletic Director for the Kansas Jayhawks. He became a U.S. citizen in 1925.

The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands, but never with the fist.

A player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowance to be made for a man running at good speed.

The ball must be held in or between the hands. The arms or body must not be used for holding it.

No shouldering, holding, pushing, striking or tripping in any way of an opponent. The first infringement of this rule by any person shall count as a foul; the second shall disqualify him until the next goal is made or, if there was evident intent to injure the person, for the whole of the game. No substitution shall be allowed.

A foul is striking at the ball with the fist, violations of Rules 3 and 4 and such as described in Rule 5.

If either side make three consecutive fouls it shall count as a goal for the opponents (consecutive means without the opponents in the meantime making a foul).

Goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the ground into the basket and stays there, providing those defending the goal do not touch or disturb the goal. If the ball rests on the edge and the opponents move the basket, it shall count as a goal.

When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field and played by the first person touching it. In case of dispute the umpire shall throw it straight into the field. The thrower-in is allowed five seconds. If he holds it longer, it shall go to the opponent. If any side persists in delaying the game, the umpire shall call a foul on them.

The umpire shall be judge of the men and shall note the fouls and notify the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made. He shall have the power to disqualify men according to Rule 5.

The referee shall be the judge of the ball and decide when it is in play in bounds, to which side it belongs, and shall keep the time. He shall decide when a goal has been made and keep account of the goals with any other duties that are usually performed by a referee.

The time shall be two 15-minute halves with five minutes' rest between.

The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winners.

U.S. patent #1,718,305 was granted to G.L. Pierce on June 25, 1929 for the "basketball" used in the game. Click link to see a photo.

Such a simple stone.

I was expecting a typical memorial park style cemetery but was saddened at how "blah" it was. Most of the flat stones had dying weeds on them which looked liked they had been sprayed long past when needed. I know we have had many hot days here in the midwest but this was a parched and sad looking cemetery.

Friday, August 12, 2011

My other photos focused on the mausoleum at the Garden of Eden created by Samuel Perry Dinsmoor. Here are a few others showing the grounds and the cement figures he created over the years, along with a snapshot of the room in which he died and backside of the mausoleum.

Samuel Perry Dinsmoor was born on March 8, 1843, in Ohio. He served in the Civil War as a nurse in the Union Army. After the war, Dinsmoor returned to Ohio and soon joined the Masonic Lodge. Joining this organization was a significant development in his philosophical outlook on life. He had grown up in a very religious home, but, like many who witnessed the inexplicable slaughter of the Civil War, began searching for other ways to understand humankind.

Inside the log cabin mausoleum is his glass topped coffin where you can view his embalmed body. As expected, no photos are allowed inside the mausoleum.

Outside of the mausoleum is a cement angel that will carry him to heaven, if that is God's will.

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Iola Daily Register 8/16/1927

In his self-published booklet, The Cabin Home, he describes the mausoleum in detail. At one time a flag topped it, but it is no longer there. Based on the photo included in the booklet I know it is this flag that sits outside of the mausoelum. See photo below - bottom left corner.

The booklet also states that his first wife is buried inside. Story has it he snuck into the cemetery and removed her body and placed inside the mausoleum, where he placed her in a steel vault and cemented it in.﻿

Monday, August 8, 2011

Timpoochee Barnard was a Yuchee chief, born about 1783 in the Creek Nation, died near Fort Mitchell in Alabama. He was the son of Timothy Barnard, who was the son of Captain John, commanding a company of rangers in Georgia, dying in that colony about 1768. Captain John Barnard may have been of Scotch birth, as possibly may have been the case with his son Timothy, who was born, conjecturally, about 1750...

Thursday, August 4, 2011

I do! I blog about cemeteries, genealogy and photography. To organize myself online I decided to create a master blog to refer others to and let them decide which of my blogs they want to read. It also gives me a place to share something that isn't specific to my other blogs.

I created a QR code for the master blog [and placed it on my other blogs]. I plan to have a card made with this code, my email and cell phone number. Now it will be easy to share how to find me.

With the ease of creating QR codes I have some other ideas...more on that later.